This week's Fantasy Index Weekly is available now.

St. Louis (at NYJ) The Jets are 4th against the run; the Rams are 28th rushing it -- plus they might be down to their fourth-string tailback this week. The Jets are 3rd in sacks, while the Rams are 5th in allowing them. Not much way to sugarcoat those numbers: bad matchup for St. Louis’ offense. ... Steven Jackson (quadriceps) wasn’t healthy last week; he played but carried only 7 times for 17 yards. Jim Haslett says Jackson will need to practice fully at least one day or he won’t play this week. Unfortunately, Jackson’s backups are in worse shape: Antonio Pittman hurt a hamstring and may have aggravated his previous leg injury, while Travis Minor suffered a concussion. Neither player is likely to play, nor to play well if they do. That leaves Kenneth Darby, a former seventh-round pick of Tampa

This is just one of the 32 team previews in this week's edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. To see all 32 team matchup previews, plus rankings and projections for all of this weekend's games, buy the current issue now or, if you're already a subscriber, log in to view it online. The e-mail edition will be delivered to subscribers in a few minutes.

Bay added from the Falcons’ practice squad three weeks ago, as the team’s possible starter against a Jets defense that’s held four opponents under 50 rushing yards and only allowed one over 107. If Jackson is able to play (and he should be), he’d have value; he’s an elite talent who can be counted on to catch 3-4 passes even if the running room isn’t there. If he’s out, it seems likely that Darby would be the fifth runner held under 50 yards by New York’s stellar run defense. Either way, it’s tough to see St. Louis managing much production on the ground this week. As an indication that at least two of these runners won’t be available, the Rams also signed Samkon Gado on Tuesday. ... Rough year for Marc Bulger. He’s being sacked at a rate of 3 per game, and now he goes on the road against a defense that’s got 29 in 8 games and just got done sacking Trent Edwards 5 times. Bulger’s used to getting knocked around, of course; it’s long been a staple of the Rams’ offense. In the past, though, he threw for big yardage anyway -- not this year. Only once has Bulger been up over 200 yards, and he’s thrown only 6 TDs in seven starts. In some respects this is a good matchup for a quarterback, with the Jets ranking just 27th against the pass. They’ve allowed five opponents to pass for more than 250 yards, and have allowed multiple TD passes on four occasions. They allowed a career day to Tyler Thigpen two weeks ago. Thigpen, however, is a mobile young quarterback who confounded the Jets’ pass rush by working out of the shotgun for most of that game. Bulger is a banged-up veteran who always seems in danger of being knocked out of any game he starts. We’re comfortable calling it an average matchup for Bulger, but hesitant to promise his line will protect him long enough that he’s able to take advantage of it. ... It’s a pretty good matchup for Torry Holt and Donnie Avery, with one caveat. Jets’ second-year corner Darrelle Revis is developing into one of the best young cornerbacks in the game; teams don’t throw his way very often. Remarkably, Revis has ended three Jets’ wins this year with end-zone interceptions. Whoever Revis matches up with -- probably Holt -- could have a quiet day, as Lee Evans did last week. The Jets have used multiple players at the other spot; that’s where the favorable matchup lies. With Holt, the problem isn’t only the matchup but Holt himself; as Bulger’s numbers have been down, so have the veteran’s. He’s averaging just 43 yards per game and has scored only twice. You don’t want to write a player of Holt’s caliber off, but this doesn’t seem like a favorable spot for him to bust out with a big game, either. Avery, on the other hand, might be worth a roll of the dice; he can use his speed to turn a short toss into a big play, and he’s more likely to be matched up with a lesser defender. For both players, of course, the risk is that Bulger won’t get enough time to get the ball to them, but the team has to move the ball somehow, and it doesn’t have many other options. St. Louis’ other notable receiving option, Drew Bennett, was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury this week.

• Comments [0]

Readers' Comments

Add a Comment

Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.

To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.